The Path to Normal
by snapple79
Summary: Set during 3x01 - missing scenes and a deeper look into what Sam & Andy were thinking.


This takes place during 3x01 (and contains spoilers to that episode, so warning if you haven't watched yet). It's my thoughts on some missing scenes, as well as some insight into the minds of Sam & Andy during the last scene in her condo. Enjoy, and please review if you get a chance cause they make my day! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

* * *

**The Path to Normal**

Sam stood in front of five superior officers and felt like he was in a stare down. It had been slightly more than two months since he'd been suspended and now he stood before the tribunal. No one had spoken since they'd called him into the room. Finally, the guy at the far end of the table spoke and Sam let out a small breath he didn't realize he'd been holding; he just wanted to get this over with. "Officer Swarek, you're here because you were suspended for conduct unbecoming," Officer Gowling stated.

"Yes, sir," Sam agreed as he nodded.

"Have you followed the rules of suspension?"

"Yes."

"What about Officer McNally?"

"All due respect, it's not the business of the police department to know the details of my personal life," Sam said.

"When the two collide, it does."

"There are numerous relationships happening all around here. No one's questioned – " Sam stopped himself to take a breath so he didn't fly off the handle. "Calling Officer McNally to come to my apartment while I was undercover was stupid, but we didn't compromise the operation. My personal life _has not_ and _will not_ get in the way of me doing my job."

"It's still a clear violation of the rules. You and Officer McNally jeopardized a major operation because of your relationship," Gowling said, glancing at the four other tribunal members before continuing. "That said, we feel you are an asset to the Toronto Police Department. Therefore, you are reinstated as of tomorrow." He looked down to make a couple notes and shuffled some papers around before his eyes returned to Sam. "You are reminded, however, that Officer McNally is still serving out her punishment and the no contact order still stands."

Sam knew that was his clue to leave, but he hesitated.

"Is there anything else?" Gowling asked when he noticed Sam hadn't moved.

"Yes. It's my belief, sir, that Officer McNally, although only on the job for two years, should not face any harsher punishment than me," he replied. "We were equally at fault."

"That is not up for discussion. You were both given a punishment and accepted it."

Seeing he wasn't going to get anywhere with his request, he reluctantly nodded his head and left the room.

He met Oliver and Jerry at The Penny that night to celebrate, but when the rookies – all but Andy, of course – entered the bar, he was reminded that he couldn't share this with the one person he wanted to. He muttered goodbyes to his friends and went home to sulk.

* * *

_A month later_

Sam had just walked in the door of his apartment after work, when his phone rang. Dropping his duffel bag unceremoniously on the floor, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, not glancing at the caller ID before answering. "Swarek."

"Sam, it's Tommy McNally."

Surprised by the voice on the phone, Sam stopped suddenly on his way to the kitchen. "Tommy. Hi. Everything okay? Is Andy...?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's good. Andy's good. Just wondering if you could help me with something," Tommy said, smiling a little at himself about the plan he came up with.

"Sure, what can I do?"

"Andy's coming home tomorrow, flying in about 11am. Her meeting with the tribunal's at 4pm. I told her I'd pick her up, but something came up and I just don't think I'm gonna make it in time. She's gonna be nervous about her meeting and if I'm late, well, you know. Thought you could maybe stop by the airport for me." Tommy hoped he'd say yes. He knew it pained his daughter to be away from Sam for all this time and the suspension was practically over, so what could it hurt. He wanted to see his daughter happy, and seeing Sam would make that happen.

Sam made his way to the kitchen and pulled out a beer as he listened to Tommy's request. She left, ran away for months, hadn't wanted to see him, and he was supposed to forget all that and pick her up at the airport. He was pissed at her, honestly. He thought after what they went through they meant more to each other than to have her just disappear. But he clearly couldn't get into all that with Tommy. And, he did want to see her. He let out a deep breath. "Sure. I'll be on shift, but I'll swing by and pick her up."

Tommy quickly gave Sam all of Andy's flight information and thanked him.

Sam hung up the phone, wondering what he just agreed to. The middle of the airport, him in uniform, her not reinstated yet. _Yeah, that's the perfect place for our reunion,_ he thought sarcastically. He took a long gulp of beer and thought about dinner, trying to push the constant thoughts of Andy out of his head.

* * *

Andy sat on a plane, anxiously waiting to get back to Toronto. She was going to get her job back. She was going to get Sam back. A great boyfriend, great friends, a great job. Her life would be normal. She spent a lot of the flight thinking about Sam, just as she had every day for the last three months. She missed him so much, but leaving was the only way she could make sure she didn't break the rules again. She hadn't lasted a week when he'd been undercover, so she knew there was no way she could stay away for three months when all they both had was free time. He hadn't called her back when she left the message about leaving town, or responded to her email saying the same thing. It concerned her a little, but she figured it was only because he agreed with her; they had to abide by the no contact rule. But that would be over today and she couldn't wait to see him. She decided she'd call him once she landed, so they could plan to meet at The Penny after her meeting with the tribunal.

The tribunal. She needed to focus on that, so she started rehearsing the speech she'd give to get her job back. By the time the plane landed in Toronto, Andy knew exactly what she'd say to the tribunal. She was taking responsibility for her mistakes and wanted to move on. They'd have to reinstate her, they'd just have to.

Andy got off the plane, dialing her dad's number as she stepped on a nearby escalator. "Hey dad…yeah, yeah, it's me. I'm back."

"Turns out I can't pick you up, something came up, but someone else – " Tommy started to tell her who would be waiting for her, but she cut him off.

"No. I'm just gonna jump in a cab," she replied, figuring that would be quicker than waiting for someone else to drive out to the airport. Before Tommy could argue with her or fully explain what he was trying to tell her, she changed subjects. "Did you pick up my uniform?"

"Of course. It's all ready for you," Tommy said.

"Great, thank you. So, where is it? The closet? On the bed?"

"What? You don't trust me?" he asked, chuckling.

"No, I just want everything to be perfect, you know? I don't want to mess anything up." She was nervous, maybe the most nervous she'd been in her whole life. Today was the first day of the rest of her life, whether it ended good or bad.

"You're gonna do great, kiddo. You'll be back on the job in no time," he said, trying to reassure her.

"Okay, yeah." Andy was distracted as she reached the bottom of the escalator. Standing right there waiting for her was Sam. "Dad, I'm gonna call you back. Love you."

She smiled, wondering if her dad had something to do with this. She walked up to him, her smile growing, but was confused when the scowl remained on his face. She giggled as she pulled the 'Dummy' sign from his hands. "Hi."

When he simple walked off, asking about her baggage, she followed him even more confused. _What the hell, _she thought. She was back. In a few hours they could officially be together again. She couldn't understand his attitude.

* * *

That night, as she sorted through her mail, Andy heard a knock at the door and wondered who could be stopping by so late. Opening the door to have the wooden oar she bought in Temagami thrust in her face, she quickly backed up as she opened the door wider. Thankful for her quick moves, she shuffled her feet just in time as Sam barged in nearly running over her toes with her suitcase.

"Your stuff was in my truck. I, uh, threw it in there after the accident," he said, tossing the backpack he held on the floor. "I didn't know if you needed something for tomorrow…or tonight, or whatever." He mumbled the last words and Andy barely heard them as he tried to head for the door. She moved to the side to prevent him from leaving, with one hand pressed gently on his chest and her other still holding the oar, which she thought might become useful if he kept fighting to leave.

He didn't know why he'd come to her condo. He could have just left her stuff at the station or brought it to work tomorrow when she'd be there. Even as he gave her things a quick glance when he arrived home, he had debated what to do. In the end, he had gotten in his truck, shaking his head at himself, and made his way to Andy's. Even pissed at her, he worried there might be something she really needed in her suitcase.

"Sam, please, just stay, _please stay._"

He didn't want to stand there and hear excuses, hear her tell him it was a mistake. He didn't know what he'd do, how he'd move on if he actually heard those words out of her mouth. So, he stepped forward again, trying to get around her and to the door, but this time she more forcefully pushed against his chest with her palm. "Look. Sam, don't. Just hear me out." She wasn't letting him leave, couldn't let him leave until he heard her out. She'd put up with his snarky attitude toward her all day and now it was time for him to listen.

She looked at him, his lips pressed together in anger or annoyance, she couldn't quite tell. "I'm sorry. I know I said yes. I _meant_ yes." Sam relaxed his jaw – maybe she wasn't going to fill his ears with excuses and regret – but he stepped back and crossed his arms waiting to see where she was going with this.

"Look, I thought about you every day. I missed you _every_ single day. I don't know if what I did was the right thing, but I did it." She shook her head slightly and avoided direct eye contact as emotion swirled inside her.

Sam wasn't saying anything, but hadn't tried to leave again, so she took that as a positive. "Come on, we finally have the chance to actually start over. No, not even start over, but to start." She was pretty sure he was less annoyed with her now, his lips now open slightly as he looked at her.

He had remained silent, listening to every word coming out of Andy's mouth, watching the emotion that filled her face. It's what he wanted to hear; her say that she missed him, that she wanted him. It was a start, even if he still couldn't understand why she thought it was a good idea to leave. "Okay," he replied and walked slowly over to the couch. Andy trailed after him, a bit confused since she had more she wanted to tell him. She didn't expect him to agree so easily after everything he dished out at her throughout the day. She followed him awkwardly to the couch, unsure what to do next. Should she offer him a beer? Should she give him the stuff she bought him in Temagami? Should she keep talking or wait until he says something?

She slowly sat down next to him, eyes glancing anywhere but at him, and, realizing she was still holding the oar, she gently placed it against the couch as if it were a third person sitting next to them. Sitting with arms and legs lightly brushing against each other, Andy could feel the warmth radiating off of Sam and it reminded her how much she missed that. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Sam's fingers tapping on the inside of his thighs. Unsure what to do with her own hands, she linked her fingers together and placed them in her lap. This was awkward, even more so than the trip to Sudbury, and she thought nothing could get more awkward than that. She wished he could pull something out of his joke book now. They both sat staring straight ahead with small frowns on their faces for several moments before either spoke.

"So, how do we start?" Sam asked. Andy looked at him out of the corner of her eye before turning her face toward him. The nervousness inside her was building and she was breathing heavily trying to calm herself.

Her eyes were filled with sadness, and emotion threatened to burst through as she thought about the possibility he wanted to walk away from everything between them. What if she'd been wrong? What if leaving had given Sam the wrong impression? What if he thought she didn't care? What if he had simply changed his mind? She'd be crushed.

She meant it when she said she missed him, that she thought about him _every day, _that she wanted to be normal with him. She wanted a life with him. Wanted romantic dinners and arguments over what movie to see; wanted opportunities to tease him about Ernie the zamboni driver and his love of pistachio ice cream (really, who's favorite flavor is _that_?); wanted to spend lazy days in bed with him. She wanted it all and she didn't know how to tell him.

Sam shook his head slightly and opened his eyes wide, waiting for an answer as she kept staring at him. Without moving, his eyes traveled to the plaid pajama pants she was wearing and then her fingers, which were now fidgeting with each other. He finally turned his face, bringing his eyes to hers and he could see they were filled with emotion. One side of her lips briefly curved up ever so slightly, something Sam recognized as her telltale sign that she didn't know the answer any better than he did. But, they didn't need all the answers right now, just each other.

Sam leaned in slowly and Andy met him halfway as their lips found each other for a gentle kiss. He pulled back when he could feel a smile form on Andy's lips.

"I'm glad you're back," he said, putting an arm on the back of the couch and letting his fingers dance lightly on her shoulder.

"Me too." She figured they were at least making progress. He hadn't run out after the kiss and he was speaking to her, so she tested fate with a casual conversation. "So, what did you do during the suspension?"

"Had a few poker nights, spent some time with my sister...you know, nothing as exciting as Temagami." He smirked and Andy rolled her eyes.

"Nothing is," she said.

"What'd you do in Temagami?" he asked.

"I went rock climbing, jumped out of a plane, went canoeing…" She waved her hand toward the oar lying next to her.

"Interesting souvenir," he said, giving her a 'what were you thinking buying that' look.

She knew it probably seemed crazy, bringing an oar home with her. But it was like a symbolic souvenir. "The first few days whenever I had free time, I thought about how much I wanted to jump back on a plane, how much I wanted to be with you. But I didn't want to risk a future on one moment. So, one day I got in a canoe and rowed out to the middle of the lake. There was nowhere for me to run, no way to hop on a plane back to Toronto when I was in the middle of the water."

Sam stared at her curiously and gave her a small nod to encourage her to continue. "I'd sit there thinking...about you, about us, about not screwing this up like everything else. I spent a lot of time rowing myself to the middle of the lake cause I couldn't stop thinking about you. And, well, an oar was easier to bring home than the canoe…or the lake," she said, smirking. That earned her a chuckle from Sam.

"Yeah, the oar is still weird," he teased, but leaned toward her, bringing his lips to hers again.

When they parted, Andy was feeling more relaxed than she had all night. She still wasn't sure if Sam completely understood why she did what she did, and even if he did, there was more she wanted to tell him. More importantly, after all his comments throughout the day, she felt that he _needed_ to hear what she had to say.

"I meant it when I said I wanted to be normal with you. And I'm sorry if what I did made you think otherwise," she said, as her fingers began drawing shapes on his leg. "Today's the first day of the rest of my life. I have you. I have my job. I have everything I've ever wanted."

And that's all he wanted, to know she shared the feelings burning inside him. He still hated the fact she ran off for three months simply because someone told her to stay away from him, but he was trying to understand her point of view. "The offer still stands to try being normal together," he said, smiling.

Andy matched his smile with her own. "Sam...will you stay...please? I've missed you. And I didn't think we'd be spending my first night back apart."

"Okay."

* * *

The End


End file.
